Rincon, Puerto Rico

May 12, 2015

Waves and rum are priority in Rincon, PR. Highway 413, known on bumperstickers as the “Road to Happiness” is also known as the “Road to Rehab.” However, as this ramshackle paradise grows by the year, so does the number and quality of healthier options and ideas. The massage scene shows it best.

Among it’s 30 square miles and approximate 15,000 people, it’s a matter of asking no more than two people (many of whom are stateside transplants) to recommend a massage therapist. Everyone knows someone and the three names you’ll hear the most are Annette, Sinclair, and Cynthia. Many other names, new cards, and flyers pop up for bodyworkers every year.

HERE IS THE SHORT LIST

Annette Weimer787 382 6299Call for Directions

Annette Weimer is Rincon’s spiritual mama who’s known to make brawny men cry. Besides getting a good, swoopy-stroked therapeutic massage, visiting with Annette is like finding a long-lost friend/sister/aunt/cousin. You never leave without feeling better or without a hug.

Annette brought her experience from the Ritz Carlton Spa in Naples, FL to Rincon over a decade ago. Thankfully, she brought the skill and left the pretension behind. Her massage is experienced and swift. In my time with her, she’s always measured her strength. There’s been no insistence on “no pain, no gain.” It’s simply there if you need it and often gets applied through her knuckles. She’s not afraid of stretches either, which are all too scarce in massage. Nor does she skimp on the essential oils if you don’t state any aversion. And if you do, her response will probably be something like,”No problem, sweetheart.” You can talk or you can be quiet and listen to the ocean ebbing behind her butterfly-figurine-filled studio as one of her adopted pups breathes beneath the table.

If she knows you are happy, she’s happy. It’s all happiness and love. She’ll tell you that every time she sees you and you will, inarguably, feel better from all of it.

Having a space of his own and making house-calls, Jeff is easy to find. But massages as effective and unique as his are not. Jeff is the eastern influence on Rincon’s massage scene. He and his family left California for Rincon several years ago, easily becoming part of the transplant network by 1) Being incredibly nice people and 2) having talent. (Jeff’s wife, Jeanne Sinclair, is a master sailor and runs Rincon Sailing School.)

With Eastern modalities from Shiatsu and acupressure to gwa-sha, Jeff blends his multitude of techniques in a way that re-aligns and zones you out simultaneously.

“Once, my lower back hurt and Jeff pulled on my pinky toe and was like, “There you go,” said one of his clients. “And it worked.”

While he is pulling your toe, hand rolling your back, implementing Thai bodywork, his educated and instinctive insights bring another healing component to the massage without levitating into the cosmic esoterica. It’s where honed skill and magic meet.

Cynthia Calvin’s massage offers all the relaxation of the town and is as “to the point” sports massage is supposed to be. Like Annette and Jeff, there is no lack of smiling. Precision and compassion define her work.

In the massage world, she’s an elbow girl with a keen sense of anatomy (not to be taken for granted). She can find a knot, work it out and move right onto the next one without making you feel like you just went through the wringer.

She and her husband also moved from California, falling into Rincon after just a few visits. They have become part of the larger community by joining the ranks of animal rescue, specifically of Rincon’s stray dogs.

From Puerto Rico, Vivian has long been a respected member of the massage crew in Rincon. You’ll see her driving all over town, to and from appointments in her black sprinter van. This chica moves. On her table however, you get the sense that everything slows down and actually wish it did. Not only does Vivian smoothly iron out your muscles, the new white, bright, airy location of Centro La Paz is calms your mind as soon as you walk in. She is also not afraid of SCM and scalene work, which she does without hitting the brachial plexus (a very, very good thing).

Tony Trialo
Aguada, PR
787 454 5592

Located about 20 minutes north of Rincon in Aguada, Tony’s office is a little bit of a challenge to find, but he’ll do his best to direct you there. While it may be out of the some travelers comfort zone, it’s a good reason to cross over those provincial lines. Inside of a bare bones martial arts studio, Tony’s little treatment room is filled with his kindness and careful, attentive and almost clinical approach to massage. He’s not afraid to work the psoas muscle for hip issues, methodically pull your limbs into stretches, or keep a dialogue going to make sure he is doing what is best for you.

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A massage therapist who...
Has been massaging for more than half my life. Likes being on the table as much as working above it. Thinks you should get on the table more no matter what. Hopes this site helps you do that by bringing the idea just a little closer. (Also considers copious amounts of chocolate, two-wheeled transportation, blue water, memoirs, being an aunt, and Expedia’s “complete booking” option some of life’s finer points.)